Anachronism
by CRMurphy
Summary: 3 modern girls end up in Tortall and as they try to fit in they soon realize that not everything is as simple as they think it is. //Discontinued//
1. chptr 1 : A Beginning

_**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of Tamora Pierce's characters or places because, well, they are Tamora Pierce's characters and settings._

_Hello. As you may have guessed from the description of this story, you will probably meet three girls that end up in Tortall. Crazy. This is only the first chapter so they don't start running around Tortall quite yet, but we're on the brink of it. The story tries to be all mysterious like "nothing weird is going to happen" but come on, it's totally predictable so I'm just going to tell you straight up that yes, they will end up in Tortall in the next chapter._

_If you like this story, or even if you don't, I would encourage you to check out my other story **Frozen: The Story of Claude and Kel**...it's way different from this one, but, hey, I like it._

_And if you are wondering if a deer would total a car or truck, then I must tell you that yes, it would. You would **not** be driving away in a vehicle that just had a collision with a deer. However, for the purpose of the story, we will assume that it's possible...which it might be, it just hasn't happened at any time in my experience. Anyways. I realize that one part's not quite accurate but there are also three girls going to a land that exists only in our imaginations so I don't think that it's that big of a deal in the scheme of things._

_So enjoy the story and give lots of feedback. Thanks._

**_CHPTR 1 : A Beginning_**

"What do you mean you're still packing?"

A tired voice came from the ear piece of the phone, "Like I'm still…putting shit…in a bag."

Amy sighed, "You're kidding, right?"

"Uh…no."

"What happened to 'don't worry about it'?" she said, twisting a lock of hair golden blonde hair around her finger as she talked. "Last night you said that you were all ready to 'hit the road'."

A reply so murmured as to be incomprehensible followed. "What, Elena? I can't hear you." There was a click on the other end of the line. "Hello? Elena? Hello?"

"Is she ready to go, hun?" Amy's mom asked, stepping into the kitchen and pulling something out from under the sink.

"Uh," Amy said, looking at the phone for a moment before hitting the end button and setting it on the counter. "I think so."

"Good," her mom said, locating the dish soap and tossing it a box. "Could you grab the spatula for me?"

Amy glanced around the cluttered counter, lifting loose papers and empty CD cases until she found the spatula. The house had been in a state of complete disarray since her dad had broken his leg last week in a horseback riding accident. Her mom had been so busy getting ready for the trip and taking care of her dad that cleaning was a joke. At one point Amy tried to straighten up a little, but no matter what she did it seemed like the mess always overpowered what small amount she did, so she had stopped caring completely. She reached out to hand her mom the spatula, who grabbed it and tossed into the box after the dish soap.

"Tell Elena that we'll pick her up at eight."

"That's what I told her all last week, we'll just have to see if she listens, but I-"

"Uh huh," she said, scooping up the box and heading for the living room, calling up the stairs, "Blake! We need to pack your bag before the truck fills up, that means _now_!"

"-seriously doubt it," Amy finished, fully aware that she was talking to herself at this point. She set the phone back on the charger and wandered out into the living room, earlier it had been full of boxes, bags, a tent, and an few sleeping bags, but apparently her mom had been up early packing everything into the truck.

"That's what you're wearing?"

Amy looked up, her little sister was coming down the stairs, a sport bag slung over her shoulder and a pillow tucked under one arm.

She looked down at what she was wearing, she had selected a hunter green dress without sleeves and a low square neck. Under the dress was a long sleeved cream dress that made the ensemble a little more modest. "Yeah."

Blake snorted, "You're so not allowed to get out of the car."

Amy made a face at her. "You don't look all that normal, either."

"Why not?_ I_'m not wearing a dress," Blake responded, zipping her black jacket with green stripes down the arms all the way up. The only visible part of her costume was the brown breeches tucked into scuffed black boots. With her high blonde ponytail she could almost pass as normal.

"Girls, are we ready yet?" their mom said, whisking into the room and taking Blake's bag. "Blake, hon, will you check to make sure that the cat has enough water?" Blake disappeared into the kitchen, still holding her pillow.

"Can you put this in the truck?" she said to Amy, holding out Blake's bag. "Remember, all our stuff goes in the truck and all the stuff for the store goes-"

"-in the trailer, I know, I know. We've been doing this for years," Amy said, taking the bag.

"But your father used to always be here when we went before. I'm just worried that I'll forget something."

"We won't, and if we do, who cares? We're resourceful."

"I'm glad you're with me at least," her mom said, giving her a one armed hug, "You're so responsible."

"Yeah, yeah," Amy said, brushing her off and heading for the door. The sun was barely stretching over the mountains in the distance, the dew shone on the unclipped grass. A few cars drove were out and a woman and her dog jogged by, but beyond that there wasn't much activity. Amy went to the truck that was parked in the driveway with a full trailer attached to the back. She pulled up the corner of the tarp covering the supplies in the back of the truck and pushed Blake's bag down, then covered it up with the tarp. She climbed into the passenger seat and opened the glove compartment and removed the stack of maps that had been stored in there. On top was one that depicted highways around the state, she took that one out and set it on the seat beside her. She flipped through a few old maps that were so old that they probably didn't map anything that still existed. At the bottom of the pile she found what she was looking for, a glossy brochure that read in large letters across the top, "Harloin's Annual Renaissance Festival." There was a picture of a traditional Renaissance dance and at the bottom in light blue print it announced that Harloin's festival is the "largest annual Renaissance festival in the Midwest." Amy's family had been going to Harloin's Renaissance Festival since she could remember. Her mom loved to sew clothes but not many people were interested in wearing homemade clothes these days (especially Amy and Blake). However, she discovered a huge demand for Renaissance clothing when she went to her first Renaissance festival with her husband and the three year old Amy. Since then the family had never missed Harloin's festival because the fabric was costly, but they could make it back it back, plus a decent profit at the festival.

"Hey, let me in," Blake said, tapping on the truck window.

Amy looked up from the brochure. She opened the door and slid her seat forward so Blake could climb back.

"What are you doing?" Blake asked, setting her pillow on the seat beside her.

Amy held up the brochure, "Looking for directions. The festival moved to a new location this year because it was getting too big for the old location."

"Oh yeah," Blake said, "It's about time. The last place had that interstate like right next to it and people were driving past all night long."

"I know, the new place is supposed to be pretty isolated. The only problem is that it's going to be hard to find…"

The driver's side door opened, "Got everything?" their mom asked, turning the keys in the ignition.

"Do you have your cell?" Amy asked.

She dug it out of her pocket and set it in a cup holder between them.

Amy nodded. "Charger?"

"In my bag and, yes, I brought the charger that plugs into the car because we don't know if there will be power outlets at the fair."

"Okay," Amy said, "That's all I can think of."

"Good," Blake said irritably from the back, "Can we go now?"

Their mom slid the shifter into reverse and the truck pushed the trailer back into the street. They were driving minutes later, Amy checking the review mirrors every few seconds in case something had worked its way out from under the tarps, her mom flipping through radio stations, and Blake wedging her pillow between the window and her head. They drove through town, coming to a stop in front of a stucco house with large clay pots sitting out front. The lawn was composed of chips of red rocks except for a few weedy looking plants that were sprinkled across it. Amy slid out of the truck and marched up to the front door, hoping that Elena had used the time since she had hung up to pack. She pushed the door bell and could hear it echoing somewhere inside the house. Amy crossed her arms across her chest and looked at her wrist to see what time it was, but realized that she had taken her watch off and left it in her bag because it didn't fit with the whole costume thing. Sighing, she looked back at the door, it was still closed. She rang the doorbell again.

"What?" an irritable Elena said, throwing the door open. Her long black hair spiraled down around her face and shoulders in loose curls and she was wearing a peach gown that wrapped around her shoulders and hugged her curvy body before falling delicately to the ground. She adjusted the pearl necklace hanging from her slender neck and smiled at Amy, "Hey babe, what's going on?" The change from the tired and murmuring Elena on the phone was remarkable.

"Uh, well-" Amy started to reply, but was cut off by Elena.

"Let's go before anyone sees me like this," she said with a laugh. "I don't even want to know what the neighbors think every year when I come out dressed like-" she paused, trying to think of a word.

"-an anachronism," Amy supplemented.

"What?" Elena said, flipping her black hair over one shoulder as she reached for her suitcase.

"An anachronism, something that is out of place in time, you know, like you're dressed in Renaissance clothing but we're in the twen-"

"Yeah, whatever," she said. "Where is there going to be room for this?" she gestured to her suitcase as she wheeled it out of her house and toward the truck.

Amy went to the back of the truck and peeked under the tarp, there were a few spaces, but nothing big enough for Elena's suitcase. "The suitcase is a little bigger than we thought it would be," Amy said.

Elena rolled her eyes, "So where are we going to put it?"

Amy shrugged.

"Just put it up front then," Elena said, already climbing into behind the truck behind the driver's seat.

Amy looked at the suitcase. "There won't be enough room between you and Blake back there."

"Duh," Elena called from inside the truck, "It's going to have to go up front with you."

Looking at the suitcase, Amy sighed, and hoisted into the truck. She slid it around so she could have as much leg room as possible, but the suitcase took up nearly all the space.

"Oh, and be careful not to put your feet on it," Elena said, flipping open her cell phone. "There are breakables."

Amy fit her legs into the narrow crack between the suitcase and the door and pulled the seat belt across her lap.

"Everybody ready?" her mom asked, shifting the truck into gear.

They were a few miles down the road when Elena's phone snapped closed, "Hey, Blakey, you want to move your feet? They're taking all my leg room."

Amy had her head rested on her fist and she pretended to be asleep.

"No, Laney, I really don't want to move my feet," Blake replied, her voice flat.

"I'm loosing feeling in my legs."

"Good for you," Blake retorted, "Write another text message or something to take your mind off it." She fluffed her pillow and closed her eyes again.

"What are you, like ten years old? Move your freaking feet."

"Eleven, actually. What are you, like five years old? Get over it."

"Girls, girls," Amy's mom cut in, eyeing them via the rearview mirror. "Settle down. Blake move your feet so Elena can have some more room. Why don't you both just try to get some sleep?"

Blake moved her feet an inch or two and closed her eyes. Elena opened her phone and began text messaging again. The two had been at odds with each other for years, they were just too different to find any common ground.

Amy and Elena had been friends since third grade, when they had started the tradition of going to Harloin's festival every year. Around the beginning of high school Elena and Amy, who at one point had been inseparable, started to part. Elena had discovered the world of parties, boys, and cute shoes. Amy hadn't. Now they were sophomores, Amy fifteen and Elena sixteen, and they had almost never hung out. The only remaining bit of their friendship was the annual trip to Harloin's.

"What road am I supposed to be on, Amy?" her mom asked.

"You're on it, just keep driving straight, I'll tell you where to turn," Amy replied, suddenly awake and alert. If anyone noticed that she hadn't really been sleeping they didn't bother to mention it. Three hours later, Amy was staring out of the window, Blake and Elena were sleeping in the back and Amy saw the sign for the turn off.

"Hey, mom, this is it coming up," Amy said. The road turned off of the interstate and wound up a thickly forested mountain, out of sight.

"It's certainly out in the middle of nowhere this year, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Amy replied, leaning forward in her seat to get a better view. "This place is amazing though, I bet the turn out will be outrageous."

"Hopefully," her mom said, "I've made enough dresses to drown in."

"No kidding." Amy laughed, she and Blake had been the models for most of the clothing.

"Not to mention all the shoes and accessories," she continued, pressing the gas and guiding the truck up the hills. Already the interstate was hidden behind a thick screen of trees and they were riding over a dirt road, rocks were clunking against the side of the truck as the wheels flung them up.

"They'll all sell," Amy assured her, looking down at a pair of slippers made by her mother, they were beautiful, green to match her dress with creamy embroidered vines wrapping around the front and sides of the slippers.

Her mom smiled at her, then looked back at the road. "I hope that your father is doing alright." He was still in the hospital after the broken leg incident.

"I'm sure he is. If he wasn't, someone would call."

The phone rang. The little electronic jingle filled the small space of the truck cab eerily. Amy stared at it, too surprised to move. Apparently her mom did the same thing because when Amy looked back up they were headed straight for a deer. Amy screamed, "Mom! Watch it!"

Her mom looked up from the phone, eyes wide. She tugged at the steering wheel, but it was too late. With a screech of tires they collided with the deer, sending Amy flying forward against her seatbelt.

Elena was screaming in the backseat when Amy looked up next, her shoulder throbbing from the yank of the seatbelt. They were off the road, just inches from the hood of the car to the nearest tree. "Mom, you alright?" she said, reaching over to her mom.

Her mom nodded, her eyes still wide and terrified. Opening her door, Amy slid out of the car and pulled the seat forward. "Blake?"

"Yeah, I'm alright- I'm fine- what happened?" Blake pulled off her seatbelt and climbed out of the truck. Amy wrapped her arms around her little sister, happy beyond words that she was safe.

"We hit a deer," she said, releasing her sister and reaching back into the car for Elena. "Elena, you alright?"

Elena nodded, her brown skin flushed from all her screaming. She took Amy's hand and slid across the seat to crawl out of truck as Blake had just done. Her hands were pressed against her lips and for once she was silent.

"Mom?" Amy called, worry making her throat catch. "Can you get out?"

Her mom slid across the seat, coming out of Amy's door like Elena and Blake. She hugged Blake while Amy walked around to the front of the car, winding her way around the trees. Under the front tires she saw brown fur matted with blood, a hoof stretched out into view, making her stomach lurch.

"Is it dead?" her mom asked as Amy returned to the side of the truck where they were standing.

"Yeah," Amy said.

"Are you sure?"

Amy nodded. There wasn't any doubt in her mind that the deer was dead. She rubbed her shoulder, her mom was reaching into the car for the ignition key to turn it off, Blake was sitting on the ground, her jacket on the ground beside her and her ponytail drooping. Elena was standing in the road, arms crossed. "What now?" she asked.

Amy shrugged, looking to her mom, who was digging through the trailer. "Everything looks alright, it was tied down well enough that it hardly even shifted," her mom said.

"Mom?" Amy said, "What are we going to do now?"

"I don't know, we're all okay and the trailer's fine. What about the car?"

Amy stepped back to look at the car, the hood was dented pretty badly, but it didn't look completely demolished. "I've seen worse," Amy reported. "We might be able to drive out of here."

"What about the trailer? Can the truck pull it do you think?"

"I don't think so," Amy said, "I wouldn't want to risk it anyways."

"So what do we do with the trailer?" she mused.

"What if we wait here with the trailer and you see if you can get the car fixed, or at least get a rental or something."

"I don't want to leave you alone out here in the middle of nowhere."

Amy shrugged. "It's not a big deal. We could even pull the trailer into the fair while you're gone. It wouldn't be that hard." The trailer had a low wooden rail that kept all the boxes of clothing on the trailer and it had two wheels that were constructed to make the trailer easy to pull, obviously by car, but it wouldn't be unreasonable to try to pull it themselves, especially when there was only clothes in it.

"I'm not sure-"

"Mom, you'll be gone for a few hours max. We can't just sit here and do nothing."

"I could call a tow truck," she said.

Amy made a face, "Why bother? There's a town like three miles from here. You go, drop the truck off at the repair shop, pick up a rental, and meet us at the fair. Then we can all go get some dinner or something before lighting the campfire."

She frowned, trying to decide. "I don't know-"

"Or we could all sit around here all day and do nothing, I don't care," Amy said.

"Fine, let's make sure it at least runs. If not we'll have to make a plan B."

Amy unhooked the trailer and with the help of Blake moved it to the other side of the road. While they were moving the trailer their mom had started the truck and backed it off the deer's corpse.

"It seems like it's working just fine, the damage is superficial," Amy said, eying the car.

"Yeah," her mom replied, "it's running all right."

Amy crossed the road to stand next to the driver's side window. "Thanks for taking care of things," her mom said. "You're so good."

"Yeah, yeah, don't worry about us."

"I'll be right back, Amy. Bye, girls!" she said, waving at Blake and Elena. They waved back and watched the truck drive away, leaving a cloud of dust on the dirt road as it passed.

"We're not going to have to pull that thing, are we?" Elena said, staring at the trailer.

"It's not that heavy," Amy said, "and it shouldn't be that far to get to the fair."

"Plus, like maybe as like we're pulling it like some totally hot guys will like stop and help us," Blake remarked, her voice high pitched and mocking.

Elena rolled her dark brown eyes. "Shut up, Blake."

"Hey, knock it off," Amy said, "Let's just pull this." She picked up the front of the trailer, Blake grabbed the other side and reluctantly Elena pushed from the back. The started down the road at a steady pace, Amy looked back at the crushed deer along the side of the road one last time. She could've sworn she saw the outline of a hand stretched out among the mangled fur. Shaking her head, she looked back at the road in front of her, she supposed that she was imagining human characteristics because she felt bad that it had to die like it did.

They had been pulling for about fifteen minutes when Elena let out a groan. "Damn it, I left my phone in your mom's car. And, just so you know, my feet hurt like a mother."

Blake turned to stare at her and Amy set the front of the trailer down. "Why are we stopping?" Blake complained.

"Let's take a break," Amy said, for the benefit of Elena.

"We've only been walking for like ten minutes-"

"Longer than that," Elena objected. She twisted her long black hair up and held it off her neck. "And it's like so hot out here."

"We play games in ninety five degree weather; this is nothing," Blake replied. She played on the soccer team at her middle school and even though she would only be a seventh grader next year, the coaches were considering making her captain of the team.

"Good for you."

Amy poked through the contents of the trailer wondering if they had thought to bring snacks or maybe water. Of course not, that would be way too smart. Amy sighed and sank to the ground, fortunately choosing a spot off the road. "I thought there would be more people," she said, "I mean, there is a festival going on, after all."

"Are we even on the right road?" Elena scoffed. "Or are we going to be stranded out here?"

Amy had been studying the map closely before the accident, she was sure that they hadn't gone astray. "It's the right road."

"Oi! You up there!" a voice called out from further down the road that they had just traveled.

The three girls looked up at the speaker, unsure how to respond.

"Did you gals kill the beastie back there on the road?"


	2. chptr 2

_So yeah. Here is chapter two. It was a long time coming because I thought that I didn't want to continue, but then I thought of some new ideas and changed my mind. So yeah. Here it is._

_Oh, I almost forgot. Someone asked me to write a little list of the characters. Here goes._

_**Blake Delongpre (age 11):** She is blonde and loves soccer. She is Amy's little sister and doesn't much care for Elena because she thinks that Elena is too girly._

_**Elena Velasquez (age 16):** She is Hispanic and loves her cell phone. She used to be Amy's friend a long time ago, but they kind of drifted apart and they only hang out one time a year, when they go to the Renaissance festival together with Amy and Blake's parents. She really only goes because it's tradition and she makes sure not to tell any of her new friends about the trip._

_**Amy Delongpre (age 15):** She is blonde and Blake's older sister._

**CHPTR 2**

"Did you gals kill the beastie back there on the road?"

"Uh," Amy said, not knowing what to say. She didn't bother to stand up to speak to the stranger. "We hit it with our car."

The speaker, a young man, furrowed his brow briefly, but shrugged it off. "You killed it though?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess you could say that," Amy responded.

"Yourselves?"

Amy shrugged, "Well, with our car. So… yeah, I guess we did."

The boy smiled, "That's impressive."

"It's impressive that no one got hurt, is what's really impressive," Amy replied, leaning against the side of the trailer tiredly. Next to her, Elena was brushing bugs off herself with a disgusted look on her face and Blake was idly picking leaves off a nearby tree and looking over at the stranger curiously.

"May I ask what you ladies are doing out here all by yourselves killing beasties?" he said, his brown eyes sparkling. He had lumpy woolen cap on his head and red hair peaked out from under it. With worn knee high boots and breeches, he looked like he was headed to the festival too.

"We're on our way to the festival," Amy said. "Our car got pretty banged up from hitting the deer so we're pulling the trailer ourselves. Do you know where everyone is camping?"

The boy looked at her strangely. "The festival ain't gonna start till tomorrow 'cause that's the summer solstice, you know?"

"No, I didn't know. So we're here early?"

He shrugged, "Aye."

Elena groaned, "What are we doing here early, Amy? This is ridiculous." She crossed her arms across her chest, but then instantly uncrossed them so she could brush off an ant that was crawling on her peach colored dress.

"You ladies from around here?" the boy asked, looking at Elena thoughtfully.

"No," Amy answered, "We've never been to this location before so we're a little-"

"Lost," Elena filled in for her.

"No, we are not lost," Amy said, turning to Elena.

"Oh sure," Elena said, "So if we're not lost then where's the festival? I certainly don't see it anywhere."

Amy brushed a few blonde hairs out of her eyes, knowing better than to loose her temper with Elena, who was used to things going her way or no way at all.

"So, are ya lost or not?" the boy asked.

"We are _so_ lost it's not even funny," Elena cut in before Amy could deny it. She smiled sweetly, her straight white teeth contrasting beautifully with her dark skin, "You don't know where the festival is, do you?"

"I know where it's going to be," he said, adjusting the small leather bag that was slung over one shoulder. "But don't you ladies want to be staying up at the palace?"

Elena's black eyebrows raised, "The palace? Sounds nice. But we don't have the slightest idea how to get there."

The boy shrugged, "I ain't been in the city for years, but I bet I could find my way enough to show you around a little. Could ring you to the palace at least."

"Oh would you? That would be awesome, we've never been here before and it's just so-"

"Elena!" Amy said, leaning over to whisper into her friend's ear. "We don't have reservations for any palace-"

She turned, brushing her thick black hair over her shoulder, and replied in a quiet voice, "Babe, what's the problem? We go, we check it out, we leave. C'mon this boy will give a tour, maybe it will be your lucky day and you'll score one with him. Even though his hygiene could use some work-"

Amy gave her shoulder a playful shove, "Not funny!"

Elena flashed her a smile, then turned her gaze back to the boy. "It would be stupid to refuse free help."

"Absolutely," he agreed.

"And we have nothing better to do."

"Probably not."

She laughed, "So I guess we will have to take you up on your offer."

"Good choice," he said. "Where are your horses to pull the cart?"

"The ye olde horse broke down," Elena said with a laugh. "These Renaissance fair people are insane, but so funny." She muttered to Amy as she rolled her eyes. Amy shrugged neutrally.

"My name is Elena," she introduced herself, then gestured to Amy, "This is my friend Amy and over there is her sister, the brat."

Blake walked over to the small group, scowling at Elena. "Hey," she nodded to the boy, "I'm Blake."

"My name is Vaughn," he said, "at your service." He looked at Blake, who was standing beside him fiddling with her blond ponytail. She looked incredibly comfortable wearing her breeches and tunic compared to her sister and Elena, who were both in long dresses and slippers. "Are you going to train as a page?" he asked.

"Uh," Blake said, "I guess. I did some of that last year even though the only fun thing was archery. It was better than hanging out with Elena as she hit on everything that moved."

"Shut up, Blake, you're so immature," Elena said, climbing to her feet, suddenly energized. "I say we move on. I want to see this whole palace deal."

"We should get moving," Amy agreed, "Before it starts to get too late. We have to meet up with mom tonight, remember?"

"I'm not the lazy one that needed a break," Blake said, looking pointedly at Elena, who just rolled her eyes.

Amy was starting to get annoyed with their fighting, but she didn't say anything to them. "Let's go," she said, smiling at Vaughn, hoping that he wouldn't change his mind about showing them around because her sister and Elena were acting like they were five.

He smiled back, a quick, secret smile. "I'll help y'all pull the cart," he said to the girls.

"Oh, thank you," Elena said, "That would be so fantastic!"

"Like you were even helping to pull it in the first place," Blake said.

Amy pretended not to hear as she went to the front of the trailer, "Vaughn and I can pull, if you two take turns pushing." She looked at Vaughn, "If that's okay with you, of course."

He shrugged, "No problem."

Amy picked up her side and Vaughn lifted his, Elena and Blake were fighting over who should push, but they didn't really need to. The trailer was easy to pull between just Amy and Vaughn. They dragged the trailer out onto the road and started walking.

"Are we far from the palace?" Amy said stiffly. She was usually shy around people because she had trouble making small talk.

"Not too bad," he replied.

Amy nodded, "That's good." They walked in silence for a length of time, which seemed like eternity for Amy. "Did you know that less than 1 of a tree is made up with living cells?" Amy blurted out without thinking.

"What?"

"It was just something I learned in biology and all these trees reminded me of it, I guess," she said.

"Biology?"

"Uh yeah," Amy said. They continued walking in silence. "Thanks for, you know, helping us out."

"Nothing better to do."

"Oh, okay," Amy mumbled.

Vaughn laughed at her awkward response. "Am I making you uncomfortable?"

"No-ooo," she said, tightening her grip on the handle of the trailer.

He used one hand to tug at his woolen hat and looked over at her, when he did she promptly avoided his gaze. "Well, I am getting that feeling."

She shrugged, "I would tell you if you were." She knew that she wouldn't, but it seemed the thing to say at the moment.

"Alright then."

"Alright."

"What is _that_?" Blake shouted, forcing Amy to whip around to see what her sister was yelling about.

"What is what?" Amy asked.

Blake pointed up, over Amy's head. Amy turned to look where she was pointing and saw what her sister had been so surprised about. A collection of towers with banners flapping in the gentle wind loomed above the tree tops. Vaughn had to stop pulling the cart because Amy had stopped walking.

"It's like the freaking Disney World castle," Elena said, staring up at it in wonder.

"Did the festival people put it up?" Blake asked, unable to take her eyes from it.

Amy shrugged, "Maybe. In the brochure they said that they were putting up some impressive new features but I was envisioning something more along the lines of another hot dog stand and a pony ride for the kids."

"That's awesome!" Elena said excitedly, "A whole little castle! Let's go check it out!"

"That is not little. Your brain, now that's little, but that castle is definitely _not_," Blake muttered and they started fighting again.

Amy started walking again, her eyes still focused on the castle that loomed above them until she tripped on an uneven patch in the road and stumbled forward a few steps. She righted herself and focused on the road and her feet.

"You alright?" Vaughn asked, looking up at her.

Amy blushed and looked away. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine."

He chuckled. "So where are you ladies from anyway?"

She pushed a lock of hair behind her ear as she considered his question. "From Ault, it's like four hours away."

"Where's that? Four hours away? That is a quick trip."

"Uh, yeah, I guess it could be. I don't know," she stumbled to say. She wasn't sure what he was trying to say. "Where are you from?"

"Around," he said with a laugh.

"Where do you live?"

He shrugged, "Here and now."

Amy raised her eyebrows. "Do you have a home?" she asked, trying to be cool but not being able to hide her concern.

"Yeah, it's on my back."

She pulled her half of the cart forward, pulling it over a rock. "What about your-"

"Parents? Nah, let's not talk about them," he said, brushing off her concern. "Look, it's the city."

Spread out before them was a city, a bustling, real, medieval city. Amy stumbled over a rock. Vaughn reached out to help her up, "Easy there."

Amy stabilized herself, "It's so big. This is amazing."

"Never been to the city before?"

"Not like this," she said, gapping at the busy scene before her. Everyone was garbed in authentic medieval outfitting, no one seemed out of place. "This is so amazing. I can't even believe it."

Vaughn chuckled, "I used to live here. For five years or so, before I- uh, had to go away for a year. It has kind of lost it's impressiveness I guess."

"How long has it been here?" Amy asked. "I thought that it was supposed to be new."

"I don't know. For a long time." Vaughn looked confused, like he was wondering if Amy was insane.

She looked around, taking in her surroundings as she walked. There was no modern equipment, no tourists with cameras, nothing.

"This has gotten really hard core, hasn't it?" she heard Elena say from behind the wagon. She sounded as shocked as Amy felt.

They walked on, everyone's costumes were well worn and they all seemed like they hadn't bathed in a long time. "This is outrageous," Amy murmured, "this is unbelievable."

The people on the street parted to let them pass, they dirty people eyed Elena, who was primping flicking around her long black hair. She looked like royalty in her peach gown and long realistic pearl necklace, especially compared to the grungy people of the fair. She was smiling, loving the attention, and waved at people as they passed. Blake rolled her eyes at Elena's regal behavior; she crossed her arms across her middle irritably. Her bouncing blonde ponytail caught glimpses from the townspeople, probably because she looked so clean compared to them.

Amy flushed as she realized that she too was gathering her share of stares, even though she was pulling the wagon. "Why are they staring at us?" she whispered to Vaughn.

He shrugged, "Because you are wealthy. They are intrigued."

Amy let her blonde hair fall in front of her face as if to hide behind it. "We are hardly wealthy."

Vaughn snorted. "You're clean and you wear expensive clothes. And the slippers? Who wears slippers when they're traveling except for rich gals?"

"They're mad that we didn't wear traveling clothes, huh?" Amy said, thinking that she had figured it out, "They're mad that we aren't all historically accurate."

"Uh, what?"

Amy scowled, "Well, we didn't know that we were supposed to be perfectly historically accurate every minute of every day. They are going to have to deal with it because we are not going to change."

Vaughn looked confused again, "Alright. Don't change."

"Wasn't planning on it," Amy said defiantly, glancing around at the crowd and holding her head high. "They are going to have to put this stuff on a sign if they expect everyone to do it. I'm not going to give them the pleasure of seeing us get all embarrassed."

"Alright."

Amy nodded, satisfied with her selected course of action. They wandered through the city, she was becoming more and more impressed. Whoever was running this thing had to be a mastermind of some sort. She wouldn't be surprised if it got its own reality show, now that would be an idea. They passed a group of soldiers on horseback and a woman hanging out laundry, the detail was amazing. All the while the palace loomed above their heads, gradually creeping closer and closer.

They walked through the maze of buildings and past the staring people, until they reached the palace gate. Amy shook her head and looked pointedly back at Elena, who was still enjoying all the attention that they were getting. She caught Amy's glare and returned it with a smile and a shrug. They stepped through the gate, the palace stood before them.

A short man came from the structure, his robes billowing and bald head shining. "Ladies! Ladies!" he called loudly.

Amy turned back to Elena, this was were the parade was ending because she was sure the short man would tell them that they needed to leave as their costumes weren't perfectly historically accurate. He would also inform them that they had no reservations and even if they did, they would have no way to pay for their stay, Amy just knew it. She almost turned around to glare at Elena again, but stopped herself.

"Yeah, what?" Elena said, coming around the wagon to stand next to Amy.

"There is no need to pull your own wagon," the man said, waving his arms. "We will have someone come to assist your manservant."

"Manservant?" Blake snorted, but tried to cover it up with a cough.

Her cough brought the man's attention to her, he looked her up and down. She didn't look regal like Amy and Elena, instead, Blake was only wearing breeches and a tunic. She looked very tomboyish, which, as it was, matched her personality.

"You must be here for knight training," the man said with a knowing smile.

"Knight training?" Amy said, ever the worried older sister. "Is that safe?"

Blake widened her eyes at her sister and sharply nodded. She obviously didn't care if it was safe or not, she was only thinking about how much this knight training would toughen her up for the soccer season.

"Perfect," the man said, "I am Robyn Kellerman, overseer of household duties for the palace. I am concerned about your lack of servants, horses, and carriages. Did something happen to you along the way?"

"Yeah, we hit a deer, can you believe it?" Elena said.

"Um, hit a deer?" the man asked politely.

She rolled her brown eyes and waved away his question, "Never mind, it's a modern thing I guess."

"Yes," Amy cut in before Elena offended Kellerman, "We did run into some trouble, but it's nothing to worry about, we took care of it."

"Your servants? They are on their way?" Kellerman asked, rubbing his bald head thoughtfully.

"Uh, no," Amy replied.

"Dear me, you can't expect to live without them now can you?"

Elena sighed dramatically, "Well I guess we could try but, woe is me, I'm not holding out much hope."

"I will supply you with a full staff," Kellerman said.

"Oh, could you?" Elena said sweetly, even going so far as to flutter her thick eyelashes.

Amy shook her head. She shot Elena an annoyed look, "I don't think that is really necessary. Thank you all the same, though."

"Mistress, Irismere is an important and influential fief, it would be the Crown's pleasure to see that everything is taken care of for you."

"Oh, no, we don't need anyone to take care of anything for us," Amy said, "We actually just came to look around. We came, we saw, we didn't conquer, but we should really be going. Elena, Blake, grab the wa-"

The bald man practically dropped to his knees. "No, mistress, I am sorry if I have offended you, but please do not leave. What do you need? What would you like?"

Elena smiled and grabbed Amy's arm, keeping her from picking up the wagon. "Irismere, eh?" she murmured thoughtfully. "We're pretty loaded, huh?"

"Mistress, I am not sure what you mean," Kellerman said, "But you are quite wealthy. You own the largest living quarters in the palace while most nobles only loan space while they are in town. That is why we were rather distressed when you arrived two weeks after you had originally stated that you would be here."

"So why did you think that we were from Irismere?" Elena said slyly. "I mean, we are from Irismere, but how did you know?"

The man chuckled, he seemed a little nervous as if he was expecting a trap of some sort. "You ladies are the only ones that could afford to travel if such fine apparel, if you don't mind my bluntness. Not to mention you were the only ones we were anticipating at this time."

"Very observant, Mister Kellerman. Now, show us to our rooms. Have someone bring all of this," Elena gestured to the wagon, "brought up to our rooms. Take care of the wagon, but make sure it doesn't get lost or broken, it is very important. And our servant, the red haired one, send him to us immediately."

"Are you sure that you want that particular servant? He is a bit on the scraggly side, mistress," Kellerman asked.

"Of course he is!" Elena nearly shouted, "We had such a horrible experience, you didn't expect him to be sparkling clean, did you? I want you to clean him up and then return him to us."

Kellerman's head bobbed up and down. "Yes, mistress, I will have that taken care of."

"Good," Elena said with all the scorn she could muster. "Now, our rooms?"

"Right," Kellerman muttered. "This way please."

"What was that, Elena?" Amy shouted. They had been led up to their rooms, which were nearly as impressive as the palace itself. There were six rooms in all; one for sitting, three bedrooms, a room for washing, and a room for the servants to sleep in. All the rooms had lofty ceilings and large, plush furniture, and in the sitting room was a large pool with Japanese fish and a fountain that sat in the middle of it.

"Wow, check this out!" Blake shouted from the bathroom. "No running water! For being as fancy as all this, they could have snuck in a little indoor plumbing, eh?"

"Blake! Stop running around!" Amy said loudly. "We aren't staying."

Blake wasn't listening, she had kicked off her boots and was jumping on the bed in one of the bedrooms.

"Girl, that is totally your room," Elena called into the bedroom. She flopped back on one of the sofas next to fish pool. "Aw, Amy, chill out."

She put her fists on her hips. "Elena! You just lied to that Kellerman man! Aren't you the least bit worried that the real Irismeres might show up?"

"Quit worrying. We didn't sign anything or show any IDs, right? So the real people show up and all we have to do is say 'oh dear, they must've mixed up our rooms, see ya later.' It's the perfect crime!" she laughed and kicked off her delicate peach slippers.

"Criminal! Yes, Elena, that is what we are doing. We are being criminal! We can't stay."

Elena snorted, "Calm down, it's not a big deal. We are just checking out how the rich people live. Besides, remember what that Kellerman guy said? They are already a week late, I bet they aren't even coming."

"What if they do?" Amy said, putting her hands up to the side of her own head and tugging at her hair.

"I already told you, we say, 'whoops' and clear out. The people own the joint, it's not like they are loosing anything. We are simply taking advantage of what they aren't. It's simple."

Blake came out of the bedroom to join the conversation. "Amy, come on, I hate to say it, but Elena's right. Plus I want to do the whole knight training thing so I don't get bored out of mind and I have to be staying here to do it, you know?"

"Come on Amy, be a little adventurous for once in your life," Elena added, "You're can't be responsible forever."

"Someone needs to be!" Amy said, crossing her arms. "Fine, we can stay, but when we get busted, I won't hesitate to tell you that I told you so."

"Thank you! We will have so much fun, you won't care what happens with the real Irismeres," Blake said, then recanted. "Which will be nothing, I swear!"

"They can't sue us, can they?"

"Shut up," Blake laughed.

There was a sharp knock on the door.

"They're on to us!" Amy said, pressing her hands to her cheeks. "They're here to kick us out!"

Elena rolled her eyes, "If you keep acting like this they will kick us out. You have to act like a spoiled rich girl, like I was earlier with that Kellerman guy, okay?"

"Yeah, acting, I'm sure that's what it was," Blake muttered. Now that they had convinced Amy to stay, Blake was no longer on Elena's side and she was ready to fight again. Blake walked over to the door and opened it.

Outside stood a squadron of maids that all curtsied in unison when the door was opened. "We come to serve you," they chorused.

"Oh God," Blake muttered.

"What would you like us to do?" one asked.

Elena came to the door. "Bring everything up here from our wagon, like I already told you! We need tea! Food, I'm famished. Hurry, hurry, go!" She shooed the maids and they scattered, all but one.

"Would you like us to move our things into the servant's room?" she asked.

"Why?" Elena asked flatly.

The maid looked confused, "To serve you."

"No, no, you must be confused. You are not here to sleep with us, you are here to serve us. You will live somewhere else."

"Who will live in your servant's room?"

Elena shrugged, "Our manservant I guess."

The maid's eyes doubled in size. "That is most immodest, my lady!"

"Is it now? Huh, silly me, I must have forgotten." She shooed the maid, "Get to work. I will figure out my own modesty, thanks all the same."

"Are you not worried about yer reputation?" a deep voice interjected.

Elena turned to see that Vaughn was leaning against the wall, his woolen cap was back in his head, but he looked much cleaner than they had left him. His clothes were clean and neat, he was wearing a new tunic and breeches. "No, I'm really not," Elena replied.

"Why not?" he asked. The maid looked at him and back to Elena, eyes still wide, then scurried away from them.

"Because we have worse things to worry about, since we're going to be worrying," Amy said, stepping from behind Elena and joining the conversation. "I guess you will be staying with us. Well, we have a whole servant's room. Want it?"

"Sure. But I don't remember when I said I would be yer servant."

"I don't remember ever asking you," Amy replied, she was still angry about the whole scam, but the rooms were so nice. And Blake and Elena were right, she ought to loosen up every now and then, even though it was probably a bad idea to loosen up by impersonating rich people at a renaissance festival. "I guess things are just getting out of control today."

He smiled and pushed himself off the wall. "I guess. So all this servant livery-"

"How serious are we about it?" Amy asked, leading the way into the suite. She gestured towards the door of the servant's room. "Burn it, sell it, eat it, we don't care."

He laughed, adjusting the cap so it covered even more of his bright red hair. "I was thinkin' more of just taking it off."

"That works," she said, smiling. He ducked into the servant's room and shut the door.

"Girl, are you flirting?" Elena cried as soon as he disappeared, she crossed the room to stand next to Amy. "I never thought I would see the day!"

"Shut up, I'm not! I don't even know what you're talking about."

"Uh huh, I'm so on to you miss Amy!"

"I'm just being friendly," Amy said.

At that moment, a maid carried a tray of tea and delicate snacks into the room. She set it on a low table between two chairs by the fish pool. "Mm!" Elena said, going to the tray.

"Food?" Blake said, poking her head out from her bedroom. She had an uncanny talent for smelling food miles and miles away. Coming from her bedroom, she crossed the sitting room and joined Elena at the try.

"This is so good," Elena said in between bites. "Amy, you have to try this! I love being rich."


	3. chptr 3

_Well here we go with chapter 3.. Leave reviews:)_

_**CHPTR 3**_

_Greetings, ladies of Irismere. We are made glad to receive you as our guests and would like to honor your arrival to Corus by inviting to be introduced to her Majesty. She will receive you for tea tomorrow at two thirty._

Elena looked up from the fancy script of the letter and smiled, "Her Majesty? My, we are just moving right up, aren't we?"

"Where did you get that?" Amy asked, leaning over her shoulder to get a better look at it.

"Vaughn brought it in, it was delivered to our door," Elena answered distractedly as she reread the short letter.

"Tea with the queen? This can't be good. She will know that we aren't really who we say we are and kick us out of here," Amy said nervously. "Oh, well, this was fun while it lasted."

"Shut up, it won't be like that."

"And how do you know?" Amy snapped, fiddling with the sleeve of her blue robe.

Elena rolled her eyes. "The note says that we will be introduced to her Majesty. That means that the owner of our suite doesn't already know the people who live here. We'll be fine."

"I don't know," Amy said slowly.

"I know, it's scary. I mean, what will we wear?" Elena broke into a smile, she tossed the letter onto a small table that stood next to where she was sitting. She reclined in the chair and adjusted her robe which had been found in the wagon of things that Amy's mom had been hoping to sell. It was a light pink with thick white belt and underneath was a white chemise that served as Elena's nightgown. Her black hair was twisted into a loose braid, which she flung over her shoulder as she poked through the tray of food that had been brought up for their breakfast. "Where's Blake? Sleeping in?"

"Uh, no, I think she went to that knight training thing," Amy replied as she picked up a piece of toast and bit into it. "It starts early I guess."

"No kidding. They're starting it already? We just got here yesterday."

Amy shrugged and picked up a bowl of fruit to pick through it for the grapes.

"But seriously, we need to go crazy when we go to meet this queen woman," Elena said. "I saw this light blue dress in the stuff from the wagon that I want, but I will have to take it in a little. It has this outrageous big collar and huge sleeves."

"Oh yeah, my mom was going to charge two hundred and fifty for that one because it's so fancy. Wait, you can't wear it, we have to _sell_ it."

"We're already wearing the clothes that your mom made," Elena said, gesturing to her own pink robe and Amy's blue one.

Amy shook her head and set down the fruit dish. "This is different, we need to wear these because all our clothes were in the truck which is still with my mom, wherever she is. So we really don't have a choice."

Elena yawned. "C'mon that is so boring."

"Well that's too bad. My mom put a lot of work into those dresses, we can't just wear them all over the place. She needs to sell them."

"Well, we could wear all the clothes around, you know, like as an advertisement. And we will look so good that everyone will ask where we got our clothes, then we just tell them about your mom's store. What's it called again?" She sipped at her cup of tea and reached her toe out toward the fish pool. The fish scattered as her toe dipped into the water.

"What are you doing?" Amy said, referring to Elena's toe in the fish pool. Elena just laughed so Amy ignored it. "Anyways, the shop is called Delongpre Dresses."

"Are you kidding? That's just your last name with dresses added to the end."

Amy shrugged, "It works."

"Okay, we at least should say something like 'dress emporium' or something so it's not so boring."

"You'll have to talk to my mom about that," Amy replied.

Elena flicked the water with her toe because the fish had started to come back looking for food. The fish darted off again when she moved her toe. "I doubt she will mind. Let's call it something more creative."

Amy sighed and scanned the tray for something else to eat. She picked up an apple pastry and took a bite before she saw the cherry pastry. "She's going to be pissed about our whole impersonating the Irismere people, this is just another thing for her to kill me for. I should have eaten the cherry pastry not this apple one."

"Why can't you have the cherry one?" Elena asked, "When can keep Delongpre, but we just need to make it sound a little classier, especially if we're going to be advertising by looking completely fabulous."

"What's wrong with having an ordinary name?" Amy sighed and looked at her apple pastry, which she had only eaten a bite of. "I can't eat the cherry one because I've already started on this one."

Elena reached out and grabbed the apple one out of Amy's hand and tossed it back on the tray and picked up the cherry pastry. She held it out to Amy, "We're loaded for now. Girl, you can do whatever you want. Let's just add 'emporium' to the name or something. Not that big of a deal."

"You are totally trying to manipulate me," Amy said, reaching out to take the cherry pastry.

"Is it working?" Elena smiled.

Amy stared into space like she was hypnotized. "What is this? For some reason I am beginning to want to change the name of my mom's store. Brain cells rapidly…decreasing…losing all sense of good judgment. Your good looks and charming personality has seduced me completely."

"Finally you admit it!" Elena said.

"We will call it the Delongpre Boutique of Excellent Taste, Ravishing Style, and Stuff. Happy?"

Elena laughed. "I like it. Maybe the 'stuff' part could go, but it's better than Delongpre Dresses."

"Ha ha, fine, we will call it Delongpre's Fine Clothing Boutique. But if my mom says no, then it's back to Delongpre Dresses."

Before Elena could reply, the door opened. Vaughn stood in the door frame, his clothes rumpled and red hair hidden once again under the woolen cap. Under his arm he held a stack of firewood.

"Good morning," Amy said, "Is that for us?"

"Yeah, Kellerman told me to bring it up even though it's too warm for fires, ya know? I don't really see the point." Vaughn came into the room and opened a fancy chest where he deposited the wood.

"Oh, that's what that chest is for? I thought it was just for decoration," Elena commented.

Amy sighed, "Everything is for decoration around here, that's rich people for you."

Elena raised her eyebrows and gave her a look of disdain. "You mean, rich people like us."

"Yeah. Like us."

Vaughn looked from Elena to Amy suspiciously. "Well, I think I'll go get somethin' to eat," he said.

"Why don't you just eat some of this?" Amy said, gesturing to the tray. "We have everything anyone could possibly want and then some."

"What?" Vaughn asked, narrowing his eyes.

"What?" Amy said innocently. "What's wrong with our food?"

"Servant," Vaughn said, pointing to himself. He pointed to Amy and then to Elena. "Ladies."

Amy clapped in mock delight, "Oh you are so smart, next you can learn shapes and numbers!"

"Ha ha," Vaughn said flatly. He sank to the couch and looked at the tray of food.

As he sat down, Elena got to her feet, "Well, as much as I would like to stay and chat, I think I'm going to roll out of here."

"Where to? Don't forget our tea with her majesty," Amy said, watching Vaughn eye the tray suspiciously.

"Don't sweat it. And I am going to go wherever the wind takes me," she answered, heading into her room. "I will get all dolled up and see what kind of people live here."

"Dolled up? Since when have you have used words like that?"

"Since now. It just feels so fitting with the whole old fashioned theme," Elena called over her shoulder.

"Wrong time period," Amy said, but wasn't heard as Elena had already shut her bedroom door. Amy sighed and let herself sink into the chair. She looked back at Vaughn, who hadn't moved towards the food. "Seriously, we aren't going to eat anything else, you can go for it."

Vaughn got to his feet. "I just remembered that I haven't arranged all your trunks yet so I should probably do that. Thank you all the same, though."

"Yeah, sure." Amy fiddled with the fringe of one of the pillows she was sitting on.

He bowed sharply and disappeared into one of the bedrooms. As he did, Elena, dressed in a light yellow dress, emerged from her room. It was long and thin, with slim sleeves. She held up a small white hat and a yellow ribbon. "Which one?"

"Put the yellow ribbon on the hat," Amy said.

Elena tried to tie the ribbon around the edge of the hat, but the ribbon just fell right off. "Ug, that's never going to work."

Amy stood up and walked over to her, she took both the hat and ribbon from Elena's hands. "Grab that pin that's supposed to look like ivory," she said.

"You want a pen?" Elena asked, "_Why_?"

"No, not a writing pen. A pin." Amy sighed exasperatedly, "Look, do you want me to help you or not?"

Elena laughed. "Sorry, God, why are you so touchy?" She slipped back into her room and emerged again, holding out the fake ivory pin.

Amy took the pin and stuck it through the ribbon to hold it to the small round hat. "Now, just pin up your hair. Pin, not write on it," Amy said with a smile.

She took the small hat, "Yeah, yeah, funny." She walked back into her room and Amy could hear her fumbling through her things for pins.

Amy went back to her chair and sat down with a thud.

"Where's Vaughnie Vaughn?" Elena said, coming from her room, pins in hand.

"Uh, he had something to do so he left."

Elena snorted. "Bolted more like. Oh well, we're paying his salary, he'll come back. Pin my hair for me?"

"First, we're not paying anything to anyone. We don't exactly have the money, you know? And second, why should I pin your hair for you?" she asked.

"First, we're getting that Kellerman guy to pay his salary, same thing. Second, please, please, please!" She sat on the foot rest in front of Amy's chair and handed her the pins.

Amy grabbed them from her hand, "You owe me."

Elena smiled and gave small clap. "Maybe I will help you hook up with that Vaughn guy to repay you." She raised one of her thin black eyebrows.

"No thanks," Amy said disdainfully. She took a piece of Elena's black hair and twisted it up on her head, where she secured it with a pin.

"You know I could right?" she said, "I'm like the matchmaker. I can do anything if I put my mind to it."

"Uh huh well you can save your skills for someone else, I don't want any hookups." She twisted another piece of hair. Elena's hair had a natural curl so it was easier to pin up all the curls. Elena must've been scared that Amy wouldn't do her hair if she kept prying so she let her finish in silence. Amy placed the hat on top of the pile of curls and nestled it in.

"Okay, you're finished," she said.

Elena hopped up and ran to the nearest mirror. She grinned at her reflection. "I look amazing." Of course she did, her dark skin contrasted beautifully with the pale yellow.

"Yeah, yeah," Amy muttered.

"Well, I'd better go before it gets too late. I will be back!" she said, flicking open a fan and heading for the door. She was gone before Amy could yell after her.

"That fan is the wrong time period-" she said before giving up. "Never mind." She pushed herself out of the chair and went into her room.

A half an hour later she was wearing a dark blue gown. It was simple, thin around her upper body and started to flare at her hips. The sleeves were tight at the top and flared at her elbows. She slid her feet into blue slippers and headed toward the door when she caught her reflection in the mirror. Her blonde hair hung to her shoulders and she looked horribly plain. Sighing, she went into Elena's room. Elena had already started collecting all the fancy things from the trailer. She found a braided belt and wrapped it around her waist, it wasn't much better, but it made her feel a little prettier.

Amy went to the door and opened it, the hallway outside was empty. Where to go? She was about to just pick a direction when one of the neighboring doors slammed open. Amy shut her own door, hoping one of the maids would lock it because they seemed to always be lurking around. She slipped down the hall toward the sound of the opening door.

"Hey," she said, approaching the boy that was coming out of a room.

He looked up at her, then shut the door behind him. "What do you want?"

"Is that any sort of greeting for your friendly neighbor girl?" Amy said with a mock frown.

He had shaggy dark hair and ghostly white skin. "Mithros, where are my manners? Would you like to come over for a little tea party and afterwards we can gossip about the latest styles and marriages?" He rolled his grey eyes.

"Well, if that's the kind of thing you are in to-" Amy said.

"It was a joke," he snapped, "but I should have known better than to think a noble lady could've figured it out all by herself. Would you like me to spell out my reaction to you?"

"Oh could you?" she answered all smiley, wondering why in the world this kid was acting like this, they had never even met. "Oh wait, that would require you to think, but I don't think that you've quite mastered that activity yet."

He rubbed his forehead and turned so Amy could see the other side of his face. She gasped, it was nearly all covered with a purple bruise. "Look, lady, I would really like to stay here and finish our little banter, but I have things to do. Something I know that you wouldn't understand, so let me cut to the chase. Goodbye." He turned and started to walk away.

Amy stared after him, too shocked to do anything. This place was weird.

She turned and walked the opposite way of the boy, hoping to avoid that incredibly rude boy with the bruised face. She walked down the hall and went out the door at the end, outside was a large courtyard with climbing ivory stretched over all the buildings around. The courtyard appeared to be empty of others, this place didn't seem to be very warm and friendly. She walked through the courtyard and into another building, not having a clue as to where she was going. As she walked past an open door, she glimpsed shelves and shelves of books. The sight made her halt and back track a few steps, could this be a library? All intuition screamed yes, she smiled, this was better than discovering the fish pond in the sitting room of her quarters.

She walked into the vast room, it was three stories tall and the massive walls were jam packed with shelves and windows. Clustered between the shelves were small tables where people could sit and read in peace. Amy sighed happily and found that she had to sit down because she was overwhelmed by the sheer wonder of it all, she sank into a nearby chair. She reached out and picked up the nearest book so she wouldn't look so strange just sitting here, gaping. The book in her hands was something that looked almost modern, she held it up and looked at the cover. The cover was worn green leather, but the first page was illustrated. It had a picture of a red haired girl standing in the middle of tall gray buildings, wearing a t-shirt, with a black cat wrapped around her shoulders. It looked familiar, but yet like nothing she had ever seen. "Weird," Amy muttered. She set it down and got to her feet, not being able to resist wandering around in this library any longer.

She wasn't sure how much time had passed since she had come in, but she knew it was a while. Amy had toured all three floors several times before she remembered that she was supposed to go to that tea thing at two thirty, she shot out the door and through the courtyard back to her rooms. As soon as she ran into her room, Elena accosted her.

"Hey, Amy, where have you been? We have tea or whatever at two thirty and it's already five after two. My hair just likes like shit, see?" She gestured at her head, it looked fine, but she obviously wasn't satisfied.

"Uh, yeah, right. I know," Amy said.

"And you don't look so fly either," Elena added with a smirk.

"Gee, thanks."

"Sorry, just being honest. Now, my hair, do something!"

Amy rolled her eyes, "It looks fi-" she trailed off because she saw a slim white rectangle on the table next to the fish pond. She picked it up and turned it over, looking at the orange seal pressed onto the back. "What is this?"

Elena didn't seem to hear her, "I want it to look a little bigger because the collar of this dress is just so wide. It needs to balance, you know-"

Amy stopped listening to her and broke the seal open. She unfolded the parchment and started reading.

_Girls,_

_I'm sorry to have to write like this, but there aren't any phones up there for me to call you on. Anyways, the truck is not looking good, I don't think it will be drivable for a few more months at least. The other bad news is about your father, he's in the hospital again because he broke his arm while trying to change a light bulb a day after he was released from the hospital for his horseback riding injury. Go figure._

_With your father back in the hospital I have decided not to go back to the fair. I know you ladies are old enough to handle yourselves, especially with Amy there to be the responsible one. So I am trusting you to get everything in order. Don't worry about selling the dresses if you don't feel like it, there will always be next year. Just have a good time and I will see you in two weeks!_

_Love,_

_Mom_

Amy dropped the letter on the table, "Elena, this is a letter from my mom."

"What?" she asked, "Oh, I mean, that's great. What did she say? Hopefully not that we have to go home."

Amy shook her head, "No, my dad's in the hospital."

"She's making us leave, huh?" Elena said, absolutely crushed.

"My dad's alright, thanks for your concern. But no, she just wants us to have a good time these next two weeks and she will come pick us up."

Elena's face lit up, "Perfect! We're free! Big round earrings or long ones that dangle?" She held up one of each next to her face.

"Dangle," Amy responded. Talking to Elena was a lost cause. She crossed the room to the mirror. She didn't look so good. Her blonde hair fell to her shoulders blandly, well, it was too late to do anything spectacular about it. She fixed her hair into what looked like a crown of braided hair and secured it with some pins.

"-and oh my God I still haven't picked my shoes-" Elena was screaming from her room.

Amy sighed and smoothed her dress, not that the dark blue cloth really needed it.

"You're not going like that, are you?" Elena said, stumbling from her room as she attempted to put on heels while walking.

"I don't have time for anything else."

"Oh, well I thought we were going to go all out and look like we are totally loaded," Elena replied.

Amy raised her shoulders and let them drop carelessly. "You can still get all dressed up, you don't need me to do it with you."

Elena tossed her head, "I thought we could do it together like we are actually friends or something."

"What?" Amy said, staring at her.

"Never mind. Let's go."

Amy shook her head, what was wrong with people today? "Er, okay." They left the room, trotting down the hall. "Do you know where we're going?"

"Yeah," Elena answered, "I was all over this place earlier. It's like a freaking maze, but I had a few guides."

"You're making friends already? That's good."

"I know," Elena said, "I've met like thirty people so far, they're all so great. They are all so into the whole old school thing but whatever, you know, it must be a rich people thing. Like they all set this thing up just to escape the modern world for a few weeks, you know? That's kind of cool."

Amy glanced at the passing doors, she was completely lost. "Yeah, it is. A little weird, though."

"It's really weird, but so are all Renaissance festivals. At least these people put in enough effort to make it believable."

"Yeah," Amy nodded.

"Look, it's the big doors up there. Wow, huh?"

Amy nodded again, she was impressed by the size of the wood doors. They were carved with a series of designs and pictures. Two guards flanked the doors.

Elena marched up to the guards. "We are the ladies of Irismere and we are here to see the Queen," she announced.

The guards reached over and pulled the doors open. Behind the door was a sitting room was that looked similar to the Irimere's sitting room, though it was a little larger and came with an old lady sitting on a couch, wrapped in expensive looking silks.

"Ah," the old woman said, "Welcome, ladies."

Elena and Amy curtsied in unison. "Hey," Elena said.

She smiled, wrinkles lining her worn face. "Come, come, sit down," she said, waving them towards chairs. "Tea will arrive shortly."

"Uh, thanks," Amy said as she slid into her seat. Elena sat with grace and arranged her skirts as neatly as if she had been doing it all her life.

"As you know, I am Queen Shinkokami. I regret to say that I do not know either of your names." Her hair was white and thin and her eyes were long and slanted, showing evidence of an Asian heritage.

"Oh," Elena said, "Well then allow us to introduce ourselves. I am Elena and this is Amy."

"Hi," Amy added awkwardly.

"It is a shame that you ladies have not been to the palace before, we can always use more beautiful girls. I heard word that there was another among you, did I hear wrong?" Tea was brought into the room, carried by a servant that set the tray down on the low table that separated the Queen from the girls.

"You must be talking about Blake," Amy said. "She would've joined us but she's doing the knight training thing."

"Oh? I was not aware of that. How does she like it?" The servant handed the old woman her cup of tea, then handed Elena and Amy theirs.

"Today is her first day," Amy replied. "I think she will enjoy it though, she's into that type of thing."

"I hear that the first couple of days can be trying for young pages, but at least she has two sisters to come home to," Shinkokami said with a smile as she sipped at her tea delicately.

"Oh, we're not all sisters," Amy corrected.

"But I thought you were all from Irismere?"

Elena jumped in, "We are."

"You would all have to be related then," Shinkokami said.

"Right," Elena said, trying to think of a response.

"That's right," Amy took over. "Elena is Blake and my stepsister. That's why we look so different, but can still be related."

"Interesting," the Queen said.

"But we usually don't make the distinction," Elena said, shooting Amy a meaningful glance. "My mom is the one that died, but Amy's mom took my in no problem. We're closer than sisters, I think."

"Yeah, we sure are," Amy validated.

"How lucky it is, then, that Blake can come home to you two," the Queen said. "My son is a knight now, he had to go through the page training too. He even has a squire of his own now, a cheeky lad that I'm sure you will meet because he's about your age and that boy is certainly loud."

Amy smiled, "Sounds like just the kind of boy my sister would get along with, she's pretty loud and obnoxious too."

The Queen let out a laugh, "I'm sure they would get along perfectly. I adore the lad but he is just too cheeky for his own good!"

"Well our meeting went well," Amy said, they were lounging in the sitting room after tea with the Queen.

"Yeah it did," Elena agreed, "We are pretty much amazing."

The door crashed open and Blake stumbled in. "Check this out!" she said, pointing to her eye.

Amy leapt to her feet, "Blake! What happened?"

"Got a black eye," Blake said with a smile.

"I can see that! How?" Amy tried to hold her sister's face steady so she could see the purplish area around her eye.

"Training. You should see the other guy." She laughed and lifted up a long sword. "Look at this."

"A sword?" Amy muttered, she was still worried about Blake's eye.

"Yeah, I already have a sword." She stepped back and swung it around.

"Let me see," Elena said, reaching out her hand. Blake gave her the sword. "Bitchin'," Elena muttered as she examined the sword.

"Elena!" Amy cried. "Blake let me see your eye, you need to do something about that."

"What would I do?" Blake said with a shrug, taking the sword back from Elena and swinging it around. "I'm dead tired though. Luckily I only have to eat dinner then start studying away, they gave me homework, can you believe it?"

"I still can't believe your eye," Amy said worriedly.

Blake ignored her, "And the guys out there. Gorgeous. They're really fit, it's so hot."

"Mm," Elena said, "Maybe I will have to stop by for a peek. You in, Amy?"

Amy sighed and crossed her arms. "No I'm not."

"Come on," Elena said with a little frown. "Please?"

"Why don't you take some of those new friends that you made today?" Amy replied.

"Oh, but we're sisters, we need to bond," Elena answered impishly.

"Stepsisters," Amy corrected.

"Ha ha, whatever."

Blake looked back and forth between them, "Wait, what about stepsisters?"

"We're telling people that we're sisters and Elena is our stepsister," Amy said. "That way we're all from Irismere and it also explains how we look so different."

"We thought of it today while we at tea with the Queen, which you missed," Elena added.

"Shucks," Blake said sarcastically.

"Shut up," Elena said, taking the pins out of her thick black hair. "It wasn't so bad. So, Amy, are we going to bond tomorrow?"

"Fine," Amy said. "We can go. But only for a little while."


End file.
